Banks sat. ‘Two. I’d say it’s an occupational hazard, but it really isn’t. Must be the first time in years.’
‘You saw Dr. Chowdhury here?’
‘Yes.’
‘He’s very good.’
‘He looks about twelve.’
Dr. Galway laughed. ‘I’ll tell him you said that. Actually, he’s thirty-three. A graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London. By the way, aren’t you supposed to be resting? It’s customary for concussion sufferers to rest.’
‘It was a couple of days ago. And I’m sitting down, aren’t I?’
‘You know what I mean.’
‘I suppose I should still be resting, but in reality, life gets in the way. Or in this case, criminal investigation.’
‘You have short-term memory loss, don’t you?’
‘What?’
‘Very funny.’
‘Yes. That’s true, but there’s nothing wrong with the rest of my memory.’
‘I just didn’t expect you to be back at work so soon, that’s all.’
‘We still have a missing person to find as well as a rape and murder to solve. I can’t afford the luxury of rest at the moment.’
‘In that case, what do you want to know?’
‘Have you completed the post-mortems yet?’
‘I was in at six o’clock this morning. There wasn’t a lot left to work with. I’ve been as thorough as I know how, but I’d be the first to admit I’m not well experienced with burn victims. As a matter of fact, of all the bodies I have to perform post-mortems on, they disturb me the most. I’m not shirking my duty or making excuses, you understand, just being honest. And if you think you need a second opinion, I wouldn’t hesitate to call in an expert in the field I know in Edinburgh. He’s worked in various war zones around the world, so he’s more than acquainted with the properties of fire. I worked with him briefly in Iraq several years ago, and he handled most of the tough burn cases.’
‘I hardly think that will be necessary. What have you found out?’
‘The damage was quite advanced in both cases, and the remains are very fragile. Fire causes any number of changes to the human body — blistering, skin splits, exposure, and rendering of subcutaneous fat. Then the muscles that overlie the bones retract when they’re exposed to extreme heat. That’s what causes the so-called pugilistic position often found in burn victims. What I’m saying is that kind of damage makes it almost impossible to identify any pre-fire trauma the victim might have been exposed to.’
‘So you can’t say if either of them was shot, stabbed, or bashed on the head?’
‘I didn’t say that. The skin, flesh, and fat are gone. So badly damaged by fire and by being transported here that they won’t tell me what happened. But if the victim had been shot, I would expect to find a bullet — if not the hole it made — and if he was bashed over the head, as you so eloquently put it, I would expect damage to the skull indicating that, unless it exploded from the inside, of course.’
‘Of course,’ said Banks, feeling momentarily sick. ‘Have you?’
‘No. Stab wounds are particularly difficult, for example. Because the skin blisters and splits in fire, and the inner organs are consumed, any trace of an original knife wound in flesh would probably be erased. On the other hand, if the knife came into contact with a bone, then there could be evidence of that contact on the bone.’
‘A notch?’
‘That kind of thing, yes.’
‘And is there?’
‘On one of the bodies, yes.’
‘Which one?’
‘The one on the lower level.’ Dr. Galway twisted in her chair and pointed to a spot on her back. ‘Fifth rib, posterior left.’
‘Meaning?’
‘There’s a slight nick on the bone that could be a knife mark. I’ll be further analysing and measuring it, of course, and may soon be able to tell you something about the weapon that caused it. But don’t get your hopes up too high. It’s a tiny nick and there could be other reasons it’s there.’
‘What would the result of such a wound be?’
‘Most likely, depending on the angle and the length of the blade, it would have pierced the lung.’
‘Would the killer, assuming there was one, have needed expert knowledge?’
‘Not necessarily. He wouldn’t have had to be a trained commando. It could have just been a lucky stab. Lucky for the killer, I mean. An expert would have known exactly what he was doing, of course, but that knowledge wasn’t essential to the deed.’
It was Keane, Banks knew. Zelda had stabbed him twice in the back. He had witnessed it. ‘And the other victim?’
‘No sign of knife wounds, but I wouldn’t rule it out.’
‘Did they both die in the flames?’
‘Impossible to say. They were both so badly burned that it wasn’t possible to measure smoke inhalation. I’m sorry to be so vague, but it’s well-nigh impossible to determine these things from the remains we had left.’
‘Can you get DNA?’
‘The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.’
‘Can you?’
‘It’s possible. Bones can be quite durable when all else is burned beyond recognition. The DNA may be degraded or contaminated, but there’s a good chance it won’t be. These bones are only semi-burned in places, especially the ones found on the upper level, not black or blue-grey, so there’s still hope. The teeth, too, could be a possible source. I’m working on it with Dr. Jasminder Singh from your forensics lab. There is just one more thing.’
It was probably the answer to the question Banks had been afraid to ask. ‘Yes?’
‘The pelvic bones were badly burned but still held their shape. Both victims were male.’
16
Banks had hardly been in his office ten minutes before a sharp rap at the door was followed by AC Gervaise and Superintendent Newry.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Newry demanded.
Banks turned down the Thea Gilmore CD he had been listening to. ‘My job,’ he said.
‘I thought I made it clear to you that you were off the case until further notice.’
‘You did nothing of the kind.’
‘Don’t play clever buggers with me, Banks. I already know you’ve visited the treatment plant, and talked to Dr. Galway at the mortuary.’
‘I dropped by both. True.’
‘And asked her about the fire victims’ post-mortems?’
‘Also true.’
‘I’m within a hair’s breadth of suspending you from—’
‘Superintendent Newry!’ said AC Gervaise. ‘A little restraint, please. There have been no complaints against Superintendent Banks. He hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing.’
‘Not yet. But what if I accuse him? I’ve got two victims whose deaths are unaccounted for. There’s a chain secured to a radiator in the upstairs staffroom, and it looks as if someone was restrained there. Ropes on the lower floor were most likely used for the same purpose. Your man here was found unconscious outside the building in question without any reasonable explanation.’
‘You think I chained someone to the radiator, then tied myself up, stabbed someone, and set the place on fire?’ Banks said. ‘When did I do all that?’
Newry turned to AC Gervaise. ‘Detective Superintendent Banks can’t account for his whereabouts or his actions during the time the events unfolded in the water treatment plant, and he was found on the premises by the firefighters, with forensic evidence to prove he was at some point inside the plant. He claims to have lost his memory—’
‘Claims?’ said Banks. ‘You don’t believe me?’
‘Let’s just say I have my doubts,’ Newry snarled. ‘I’ve told you what I think of these memory-loss cases. It’s just a bit too bloody convenient, isn’t it?’